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From Jonathan Finer's article, "The Hopes of a Nation," in the June 6 issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review:

Their parents once dreamed of ping-pong or kung fu glory, but today's Chinese kids want to be the next David Beckham. The world's obsession with soccer is now China's too -- a standing cemented last October when the men's national team qualified for the first time for the World Cup finals. Frequently compared with religion for its hypnotic hold on the masses, soccer is becoming perhaps even more important...